I See Myself the Way You Remember Me
by DenizenofTwilight
Summary: In which our heroes mean to have a nice time in front of the campfire, telling stories of their different adventures, only for everything to fall apart when they begin to realize how much they've all changed. A SoKai story about rediscovering your significant other, and learning that you should always want your loved one to be able to change and grow. Deals with things said on KHI.


**I See Myself the Way You Remember Me**

It was one of those odd days, where the sun was shining but there was a bit of rain coming down—something one wouldn't have believed could happen at all, if they hadn't smelt the moisture in the air before the droplets began to appear—that the Destiny Islands trio decided to get together and talk about their previous journeys.

Now, though Sora had spent much time fighting, traversing, and just downright trying to survive during some of the worst conditions during his journey, he could hardly understand why his friends would want to be out when the weather was behaving as it was.

Call him crazy, but now that he had the luxury of a room and his own bed again, he would have much rather warmed up by the fireplace in his room and tell stories there.

Perhaps Kairi was just trying to prove that she could tough it out, too? Sora wondered. If so, that was completely unnecessary, seeing as he and Riku had always had the utmost confidence in her. And... if all of this _was_ Kairi's idea, Sora knew that it was very unlikely that she would change her mind about it all, in her current state of mind.

So, curling up on his favorite seat in the sand—right beside the dock that he and Kairi had sat on before everything had changed—Sora tried desperately to make some sort of fire start, before deciding to give up the ghost, and to let Riku figure out how to get a bonfire going in this type of weather.

"So, wait." Kairi said with a slight smile on her face, as she pressed her two index fingers together, in a sidetracked sort of manner that wasn't unlike Naminé. "When you were sleeping for a whole year, you kept hearing some woman saying something about 'restoration'? That's sort of weird, Sora. How do you even know you can trust this person? And what were they restoring, exactly? For all you know, they could have been giving you webbed feet or something!"

"So you're saying..." Riku pondered, as he succeeded in what Sora couldn't do and managed to get the flames flickering before them slightly (and it was a good thing for that, seeing as how Kairi looked like she was about to get frostbite from all the rain hitting her exposed skin). "Is that someone was trying to turn Sora into Donald? That sure would have been something, wouldn't it have?"

Okay. So it was no secret to Sora—or anyone on the Islands, really—that he and Riku had a very vicious sort of rivalry. And while it was also true they were best friends—and had sort of even come to an understanding of each other, and a truce whilst they'd been stranded in the Dark Margin—Sora had never wanted to hit Riku more than he did in the current moment.

After all, Riku knew all too well why he'd had to go to sleep, and just what Naminé had been trying to restore during that time. And while Sora could never even think of being ashamed of his feelings for Kairi, he also didn't exactly wanting her to know he'd forgotten her or anything like that, either. It was just- it was just so embarrassing!

And Riku, as he laughed at Kairi's worriment for Sora's well-being, seemed to all the world that he was about to let Kairi in on the secret. Dang it.

"Ehehehe," began Sora awkwardly, as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, and moved to toast a marshmallow over the open fire—all the while making sure to look at anything but Kairi's far too perceptive eyes. "I'm so glad you're worried about where I was and stuff, Kai. I really appreciate it. And though it really would have sucked if my healer had had malevolent intentions... I think I'm most worried about how the voice seemed to sound like my mom."

_And if you even think about saying that I might be attracted to Kairi, because a lot of men marry women like their mothers, I'm going to kill you, Riku_, Sora added mentally, upon glaring daggers at Riku.

That, fortunately, seemed to sober the chortling Riku up, as he sat up from where he'd fallen over during his spiel.

And Kairi... bless the girl, just looked between the two boys confusedly, before crossing her arms over her chest, aggravated, as she shook her head at the sky.

Sometimes Sora really felt bad about how they always left Kairi out somehow. Especially moreso these days... If only there was a way to let her know that he liked her so much more than Riku at the moment (without revealing that his entire existence was based on his memories of her), Sora thought to himself.

After all, he was very much thinking about killing the silver haired teen right now, so of course he was liking Kairi more than Riku… not that Kairi would have been okay with Riku being killed, though.

Distracted from his thoughts momentarily, however, when Kairi picked up a bar of chocolate from her purse and set to unwrapping it to make a S'more, Sora noted that Kairi rather quickly announced, "You know, I won't go as far as to say I always know what you two are on about, but I do know more than you like to think. I do have Naminé in my head right now. So instead of leaving me out of your mental conversations—because of things I most likely already know, anyway—you could just let me in, you know."

And it was that moment that Sora realized that Kairi had never meant to use her chocolate bar for a S'more, but rather to swallow it as it was. And it was when she was able to swallow it whole, without having any problems with it in the slightest, that Sora realized that maybe even in simple tasks she was stronger than he had realized.

There also seemed to be more to Kairi in general that he hadn't realized, so leaning closer to Kairi guiltily—and ignoring how very much he wanted to pummel Riku, since that would probably drive the three's attention even further apart from each other—Sora asked just as their shoulders brushed, "So is there anything you want to talk about, Kairi? You've been on a bit of an adventure yourself, right? Why don't you tell us all about it?!"

"Hmm..." Kairi muttered aloud, as she sat up closer to the fire. And if Sora wasn't so worried that she would burn herself (perhaps he was a bit over protective of her, due to the trauma of losing her?), he probably would have noted just how beautiful the redhead looked, with the embers licking upward towards her face, and reminding Sora that as much as he liked to think that Kairi was water, she was just as much fire. Something he would no doubt be learning even moreso in a moment, when she chose to recount her stories.

Riku, thankfully—seeming not to be feeling as overly concerned for Kairi as Sora was (Kairi hated being coddled, Sora knew, and though he was sad that he couldn't be what Kairi needed at the moment, he was glad that Riku could be)—pushed a strand of hair away from the girl's face, just when some stray sparks seemed to go her way, and succeeded in making her eyes shine like fireworks.

Yeah... though Sora was of course disappointed that he wasn't able to move Kairi's bangs away in such an affectionate gesture, so as to see her eyes shine so bright, he was certainly glad that he still had gotten to see the beauty of it.

Sora was also glad that Riku had chosen to make amends in his own way for unintentionally leaving Kairi out. "I think I know what you're going to say, Kairi," Riku told the girl before him, though Sora almost had to wonder if he was actually maybe looking through her at Naminé.

As if confirming those thoughts, Riku continued on with, "You're going to prove to us that you've been through more than we know, right? So you're going to claim your Others' memories as your own. I can understand that. I mean, she is you. And that… those memories must be so hard for you to bear, I know. It has to be hard having two sides to your own heart: hearts that have both somewhat been used for sinister purposes."

At that, Sora couldn't help but frown slightly, just as Kairi seemed to somewhat fall backwards in shock herself. (It might have been funny, Sora supposed, if he hadn't been so concerned about her mental health at the moment—just what was with that look he saw on her face?)

And why was it- why was it that he didn't buy into what Riku was saying at all? It was true that all the things he'd mentioned had truth to them. And Sora could even get where his best friend was coming from, but at the same time...

Sora couldn't help worrying that Riku had hurt Kairi somehow. Like, he'd made her think less of herself or something. Though Sora had always admired his and Riku's differences, and wouldn't have wanted Riku to change in the slightest, for the first time ever—as Sora thought about drawing Kairi into his arms to comfort her—he felt like Riku should have chosen differently.

"Actually," Kairi continued with a slight cough, as if hinting she was coming back from being sick, or maybe even being hurt. "I was going to comment on how I remember reacting to the slide Sora saw in the Deep Jungle. You remember that right, Sora?" Kairi beamed, as she turned towards Sora, who couldn't help but lean closer to Kairi's contagious radiance, now that she seemed to have found herself again.

The way she was still pounding her heart some, though, as if to stop the burn, still sort of worried Sora, though.

"That castle that Jane showed you: I don't know if you ever even realized it, but that feeling of familiarity you had for it came from me. The picture was of Radiant Garden's castle."

"Oh! Now that you mention it, I think I remember recalling that slide when I got to Hollow Bastion. Seeing the place ignited a sense of rightness in my heart... though Donald may or may not have made me believe it really just meant that I was hungry. Sorry."

Never in all his life had Sora been more embarrassed or ashamed about something he'd said or done. And while his first desire was to run far away from the girl he loved, so as to never have to see a look of disgust on her face—or to know she'd probably never love him after he'd said that—he still wouldn't have taken his words back.

As it was, Sora thought too much had happened in the past because the three of them hadn't been honest with each other before they'd left.

But more than that... Sora had meant to get them back on the right track again. While he might not have chosen the right way to go about that, he definitely still wanted to have a night of laughing and telling stories with his friends.

And though Sora still wasn't sure if he'd be needed to protect the worlds again in the future, he wanted to have this night to remember just in case he did have to leave again.

He also... may or may not have meant to show that he knew Kairi had had journeys, and importance on said journeys, apart from Naminé's. Even if, admittedly, he'd probably chosen the dumbest memory he could have to show her that.

Riku, seeming to be on the same wavelength as Sora was again, laughed good-naturedly at Sora's line (something Sora couldn't even blame him for), as he clapped his friend on the back saying, "Sure! You get mad at me for almost revealing you had to have your memories of Kairi repaired in order to function properly, but are okay with saying something that stupid and silly to her. Sora, I don't know what to do with you!"

"Hey! I never said I was smart, did I? As far as I know, I've only ever made it through anything by being nice, and I don't deny that fact, so you can get off my case for not being a scholar now, thank you very much!"

Of course everyone's reaction to Sora's sudden splutter—to which he could only look away from his friends, traumatized, as he desperately tried to hide the blush on his cheeks with his own two hands-was to share a laugh.

"Well," Sora defended himself, as he scratched his cheek uncertainly. "At least I'm honest, and can put smiles on people's faces, I guess."

And just when Sora was about to clarify that the rain and coldness had begun to pick up—and he was already feeling sick enough, so they should probably definitely go back inside—a certain expression seemed to pass over Kairi's face as she looked at Sora.

And usually this would have had Sora feeling self-conscious beyond belief, as he worried that he would inevitably humiliate himself in front of his crush, but right now... she just looked sort of thoughtful. Like she'd seen a ghost maybe, or perhaps was remembering something from a past life.

And upon looking at Kairi, with his head craned to the side, (oblivious of how Riku was mocking him by making kissy faces at Kairi, who also seemed none the wiser), Sora found himself debating if this was how Kairi had looked and felt like when she'd remembered him after Naminé's magic had worn off.

There was… there something that was pulling at the back of Sora's memory, and it told him that he'd conversed with Kairi right before she'd remembered him, and that he should have known exactly what the expression on her face had been then.

Kairi... had he called her during his year asleep, like how she had called out to him when she'd been in his heart?

"Well, I think we should go in now," Kairi seemed to echo Sora's earlier thought, as she took the moment to pet Pluto, who had taken the opportunity to come and approach the girl he'd bonded with in a prison cell.

While it was true that the King, Donald, and Goofy had already left for home, it seemed as though that Pluto had found a way to return to the Islands whenever he wished to.

In he thought about it, Sora thought he might have remembered some technical talk from King Mickey, about how he'd enchanted the letter he'd given Pluto to allow the dog to be able to teleport whenever and wherever he wanted to. And this, of course, instantly made Sora worry that the pooch could get lost in the Lanes Between, and maybe even lose his heart, or something.

And if that were to happen… Axel unfortunately wouldn't be there to save anyone this time. But maybe... maybe the rules were all different for canines? If so, that was certainly a beautiful thought to Sora, and he even almost felt a bit jealous of such a place: a place where unlike the Lanes Between, you could go to traverse places without losing your heart.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Riku agreed somewhat solemn sounding. Sora raised an eyebrow at that, and probably would have reached out to try and make sure his friend was okay, were it not for the fact that he already sort of knew.

Despite all of his bravado and attempts to be outgoing, Riku always somehow ended up getting rather shy at night, as he reflected on his life and the big choices he'd had to make. And though this was something Riku had done for as long as Sora had known him, it was somewhat disheartening to think about it now.

They all understood what true choices were now, for one thing, and they also knew how they had each somewhat failed. Before, when they'd just been thinking on what they wanted to be when they grew up, there was no way they could have known of the responsibilities they'd have now. So to that end, Sora could completely sympathize with his friend wanting to find himself again. Especially since he held so much regret for all he'd done…

Pressing his lips into a firm line, Sora thought that maybe he should join his comrade, and think about some things, too, but as it happened Riku wouldn't have that. Already, he was heading off with Pluto (who Sora sincerely hoped could cheer Riku up) without saying a word.

And though Sora really didn't know what Riku thought about Kairi and Naminé exactly… somehow he thought that his friend would probably be holding himself responsible for hurting Kairi's feelings earlier. If only... if only Riku wasn't so hard on himself... Sora thought sadly and a bit awkwardly, before he turned around to face Kairi with a sad smile on his face.

"I suppose it's just us, then," muttered Kairi awkwardly, as she stood up beside Sora and stepped up onto the dock: preparing to jump down into her little rowboat, and go wherever Sora deemed they should.

And though it was silly to think like this—when she was just a few feet away from him, and they were about to go somewhere warmer to hang out—Sora found he couldn't bare the idea of letting Kairi drop down into her boat without him at all. Just the way the water was worrying at the boat—so that it tore pieces of the wood away, and left holes in its wake—had Sora gnawing at his lip apprehensively.

Okay. So in Sora's crazy dreams, it was always him that fell into Darkness, so why was it that just the idea of her jumping down towards the sea was making him worry that he was going to lose her to the Darkness forever?

Was it that he was traumatized from all that had happened? Yeah, Sora thought upon nodding to himself. That had to be it.

And though there was a blanket in Kairi's boat that Sora desperately wanted her to get under, because he knew how cold Kairi was already feeling, he found that he was also worrying about _why_ she was cold. Darkness and coldness went hand-in-hand, after all, so did that mean-

"Kairi, wait!" Sora called out to his dream girl, just before she was completely gone from his line of vision. Darting forward faster than even he knew he was capable of, the brunette grabbed onto Kairi's arms, just before she'd completely fallen off the dock.

And then, holding her steady there for a moment—none the wiser to the fact that in a coming battle against Xehanort in the future, he would be holding onto Kairi just like this—he used the strength he'd acquired during his journeys to pull her back up to where he was standing.

He noted her breath hitch at this, and though Sora had seen very similar things in his encounters with couples in other worlds, he got the distinct expression that Kairi wasn't thinking he might kiss her like someone like Jasmine would be in the situation, but rather…

She was preparing for whatever crazy thing might happen yet. Grinning at the battle instincts Kairi possessed without even realizing it, the brunette thought that Kairi might make a great fighter yet…

"Sora, what is it?" Kairi questioned, as she must have realized there was something wrong with Sora, and—using a sort of flexibility and agility he didn't even know the girl possessed—quickly looped her leg around one of the dock's poles, so that she could reach down and grab her pair of gloves from the boat, but wouldn't have to leave Sora completely.

As Kairi did this, Sora tried very hard to focus on other things, and not the fact that Kairi's nicely shaped derriere was staring him right in the face, or the fact that he had to hold onto her legs to keep her steady.

Sora was completely sidetracked from all of those thoughts, though, when he noticed Kairi deftly put her white and pink polk-a-dotted gloves on her hands, with a slight smile to her face, which made her seem overly princess-like to him for the first time ever.

Why was it that he was more interested in her clothes, than the fact the girl he loved was right in front of him: perhaps even daring to kiss him, if he wanted it, and yet… he couldn't even really feel anything about that idea all. Was this- was this what it meant to be a soldier?

"Sora, are you okay?" Kairi asked worriedly, as she pursed her lips in consideration, and narrowed her eyes at the lie she probably thought Sora was about to tell her. As a general rule, Sora never let people in on anything that was ailing him—it was something he'd learned to do even before meeting Donald and Goofy, who had insisted that he always smile.

So the situation that Sora and Kairi found themselves in wasn't unfamiliar in the slightest, and neither was Kairi's doubt in Sora ever being able to tell the truth.

"You know, it's kind of funny," Sora explained, as he turned to his right, so that he might look down and see the darkness of the water—a sight that Sora had desperately wanted to keep Kairi from, ever since he had his first dream about himself falling into the ocean.

He was... kind of acting weird right now, he knew. Weirder and more serious (and perhaps even more comfortable?) around Kairi than he ever had been before.

He was also... somewhat lost in his own mind, Sora supposed, as he looked towards the remaining light of the sun—that cast the world into shades of violet, green, and coral—wondering if he could perhaps smother himself and everyone he loved into that Light, so as to protect them from the Darkness.

How quickly... how quickly the good day they'd been having turned into one of his nightmares, Sora thought disgustedly, as he dared not look at Kairi, but rather at his own hands. "I'd meant to get to know you again, doing the fun sort of things we used together, Kairi. I mean, I noticed after Xigbar said that you didn't need me anymore—and after I saw you defeat those Shadows—that you _have_ changed. You're so much stronger and beautiful than I remember, and it's a wonderful thing, it really is, but...

"I also feel like you're a lot sadder now. Your Light's diminished some, maybe, and we can only blame me for that. And now that I'm trying to fix that, and get to know you again, I can't even manage that, because I sort of feel detached from everything right now. I'm sorry, Kairi. I'm so, so sorry."

Just where- just where was all of this coming from? Sora wondered, just as his indifference disappeared for a moment to be replaced with butterflies in his stomach: something he'd gotten used to when being around Kairi.

In any case, as terrible as it all was, Sora figured he was actually being more real with Kairi at the moment than he ever had before. Or since he'd realized he liked her, and awkwardness had taken root in his heart, anyway. But even if he was feeling a bit off, he didn't really think it warranted him talking to her like this. In fact, he was never like this with anyone, so what gave?

As Kairi snuck up behind Sora, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and innocently kissed his neck, like Sora had seen other couples do before, he was suddenly meant with the vibration of Kairi's words against his skin. And then, something alighted feeling and emotion in him again, as she explained:

"It's the same for me, Sora. As much as people might deny it-and say how it shouldn't happen-I think Darkness has affected my heart, too. Our safe harbor, that we all three latched onto, with the red ribbons of fate... tangled and tore, but never broke. We're still intact, but we're hurt and out of shape for it, but that's only natural. And please don't... please don't apologize to me, Sora. You know I could never have it in me to be upset with you, so don't be upset with yourself. I'm just so glad you're back. Truly."

"This- this doesn't feel right. I'm too soldier-like or something. We're-" Sora began to argue, as he broke away from Kairi's embrace: feeling like he didn't deserve to be around her at all.

"We're…" Kairi ventured, as she stood on her tiptoes and maneuvered around Sora, so that she might quickly peck him on the lips before saying, "acting somewhat stoic? It is sort of weird, isn't it? But maybe it's better this way? I don't know if I'd be able to bear all the pain we've had any other way. Still… I feel like we have to do something about this. Do you want to go to the secret place, maybe? And see if that might make us remember who we used to be?"

As it turned out, that was exactly what Sora wanted to. He remembered how alive he'd felt one time in particular, when he'd been inside the dark and enclosed secret place whilst beautiful fluorescents lit it up. He'd been a kid then… and Kairi had been there as well.

And at that time they had, for whatever reason, thought about asking their parents to put a slide into the place that came all the way down from the ceiling (to this day, that was why there were holes peeking through the secret place's roof, as Riku—when he'd gotten word of the plan-hadn't taken "no" for an answer, and had opted to climb up the walls, via a latter, and had poked holes into the ceiling with his shovel), and the exhilaration and excitement that it had filled Sora with had been uncanny. Maybe he could look for that sort of feeling again? Or-

"Come on!" Kairi said with a laugh, sounding much more like her old self, as she jumped off of the wooden walkway and onto the exact spot in the sand that Sora had been occupying earlier.

Yeah… the dark water being a backsplash to Kairi definitely wasn't a good thing, Sora reflected. But seeing her like this, with the pristine white sand rising upward to reach her legs… the brunette couldn't imagine a better place at all for a Princess of Light to be occupying.

She truly was as glorious as the beautiful sand here, Sora couldn't help thinking. He could sense that she had a lot more power and importance than she even realized, but unlike the sand ticking away in an hour glass—or the sand that had nearly choked Jasmine, as Sora had fought to save her alongside his friends—Sora knew that Kairi's light persona would never hurt anybody.

And smiling a bit at that, Sora quickly bounded to where Kairi was at: using of the successful leaps he had used to jump across buildings in The World That Never Was.

Taking Kairi's hand into his own, then, as they began walking to the secret place—and the sand that got up beneath his pant legs served to irritate him, but also served to remind him of sand from another place—Sora recalled that:

"Oh yeah, Kai! Hayner, Pence, and Olette told me to tell you 'hi'. I can't believe I forgot until now… S-s-s-orry about that!" Sora deadpanned, but only to have regret color his voice and emotions, the moment he realized he was sounding chipper again. And to Kairi… it probably sounded like he could only be happy when he was dealing with the affairs of other worlds or something. He was such an idiot! How he wished he could punch himself in the fac-

"Hmmm..." Kairi hummed, as she once again brought her hand up to rest over her lips. And for whatever reason, Sora found himself reminded of Atlantica: when Ariel would bring a bare hand up to cover up of her own gasps—or would even blow a conch horn to get attention directed at her.

Just why was he thinking about Ariel now, though? Sora wondered. Sure she and Kairi were both redheads, and they both had the same petal pink lips, but-

"Sora were you thinking about… were you thinking about how you jumped in The World That Never Was earlier? Is that how you ended up thinking about the world connected to it: Twilight Town? Is that how your mind works?"

Sometimes, it was truly eerie just how well Kairi knew him, Sora thought just as he and Kairi finally made it to the little trail that led to the secret place at the base of the tree.

And if he were to be honest, he was so sidetracked by his thoughts that were it not for Kairi's warning, he would have messed where to step and probably would have banged his knee on the slight incline. And since there would have been no shrubbery in that section to lessen the blow… it really, really would have hurt.

It really was a good thing that Kairi was keeping as keen an eye on him as ever, Sora knew. And it was partly for his gratitude to her for that—as well as just his love for her, of course— that he pulled back the moss hanging just above the secret place for her, so that Kairi could go in first and not have to worry about any stray bugs falling into her hair.

And no doubt, at something as gentlemanly as that, his mother would have been very proud of him, Sora acknowledged to himself with a nod of his head.

"You know, Kairi," Sora said at first too loud—forgetting that they were in a cramped place, so that his voice would grow louder, and echo, even with the soft spoken tone that he'd used.

Opting to whisper then, Sora poked on Kairi's shoulder, so that she'd momentarily turn around to face him (which just served to almost have her bead butt him in the process, as she navigated the narrow lane that would lead them to the mouth of the cave), and then he finally worked up the guts to say:

"Sometimes… sometimes it amazes me how much you know me. You're like my mom in that way. And while most guys would be embarrassed by something like that, or think it gross, I don't. And that's—that's why I love you… I guess."

And there it was. The secret place's sharp, blue and black glow—or more accurately, Kairi just being herself—had awoken up the Keyblade master's usual persona again.

And as Kairi's eyes crinkled in warmth for a moment, before she turned around to walk completely into the cave (the gesture somehow seeming to belong to her and Naminé all at the same time), Sora forgot the sinking suspicion he'd had that maybe she'd been reading his mind all along, and just basked in her presence.

"Th-th-thank you, Sora," Kairi stuttered the slightest bit, in a way that really wasn't like her at all. "You should know that I love you, too, but who am I kidding? You probably know that already, by seeing that I added to the drawing here, right? And we could go on ahead and pretend to be our old selves—and pretend that we don't know how the other one feels—and act like there's nothing between us, but… what's the point of that? We're desperately trying to find who we once were, I know, and yet… I don't think I'm capable of going back _that_ far."

And though Sora didn't say anything to this, but rather sort of frowned at it, as he walked over to said drawing and put his hand on it: focusing with all his might and praying that some of the chalk from Kairi's design would come away onto his hand, Sora knew that he felt the same way, too.

It was… pointless playing silly games with each other, when they'd lost so much time with each other already. There was also a chance that they might even lose more time in the future, and if that was going to be the case, Sora knew he was going to love Kairi to the best of his ability before that happened.

When he looked back on his time with her, he didn't want there to be any regret.

The real tricky thing, though, was… how were they going to act around Riku now they were a couple?

"There was… there was never a conch shell in my time with Ariel was there? Or- Actually, I feel like a lot of my memories are distorted, and-" Sora said suddenly, as he thought about how Riku had seemed to give his blessing about him being with Kairi… And yet, Sora couldn't help feeling that wasn't what Riku wanted at all. Was his memory messed up? Or-

"I was wondering when you were going to catch onto that," said Kairi sadly, as she stopped the weird balancing act she'd been doing: perhaps hinting that she knew Sora would leave her even with how physically fit she'd become.

And in the instant that Kairi began walking over to him, Sora thought that she might actually crawl onto his lap or something, like he'd seen certain lovers do. But if she did, Sora knew that it would be completely innocent. This was Kairi, after all.

And he was still innocent, too. If she did come over to sit with him like that, he'd just wrap his arms around her neck, and be happy for that. And as her hair would crease under his fingertips, he would run his hands through the locks he'd come to love, and admire how they'd gotten longer.

But in the end, Kairi never came over to be next to Sora. Instead, she leaned against the cave wall rather depressed looking, and explained, "Naminé said that some of your memories seemed off even inside of Castle Oblivion."

And it was odd, that just as she began to say this, a shadow seemed to pass over Kairi's face: reminding Sora again of the darker Other that she was now referring to. The white of Kairi's corneas almost seemed to glow in the lighting.

"And if that's the case, I guess it's because I was in there with you, too, and was remembering things wrongly for you. Your memory's all kerskuffled, Sora, because you have two versions of things inside of your heart. Sorry." Kairi explained guiltily, as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively, and kicked a few stray stones out of her path. And in that small, minuscule detail, Sora saw more of the Kairi that he'd earlier said goodbye to at Kingdom Hearts than he had in a long time.

It was strange how it would be through Naminé that that would happen, but maybe that was the way it was meant to be, thought Sora as Roxas chose that moment to appear in his heart, and served to anchor him right back towards the person they both needed and loved.

And really… wasn't life exactly how Kairi had just described? Someone perceiving you a certain way, and then you becoming that way for that person? If so, why Kairi was so sad about it all, Sora couldn't even begin to fathom. It was more than he could ask for, really, to have his memory seen by others, and for them to see it beautifully.

Yes, as a person who firmly believed that his friends were his power, that was more than he could have ever asked for.

Stepping over to Kairi gingerly now, so as not to upset her—though Sora almost did wonder if she thought he was going to pin her against the wall and kiss her or something: so alike in their thought processes were they—Sora reached the girl of his dreams, just as he drew in a large intake of breath.

And pressing his hands to her hair like he'd thought about doing earlier, so that he could get it out of her face, Sora pressed a quick kiss on Kairi's cheek: something as innocent as they were, before he set things right in the only way he knew how: the way he should have known to do all along.

In Sora's book, two wrongs didn't make a right, but two rights things were definitely a positive. And the only way to fix things between him and Kairi was to first honor Naminé, and so… he was going to make Kairi feel better about this all the way he had the girl's Nobody back in Castle Oblivion.

Bending his knees real quick—so they wouldn't buckle under his nervousness about what could happen—Sora quickly moved the stray tear from beneath Kairi's eye, with a look of his own sadness, before opting to repair their bond and just who they were again.

"I promised I'd never make you sad or cry, Kairi, so please don't do that now. You're so much more beautiful when you're happy, and my old girlfriend—who drew me so spectacularly here, I might add," Sora referenced, as he pointed to their drawings again, to hint that this was all somewhat a joking matter, and that Kairi should find it all funny and stupid as well.

Thankfully, Kairi did seem to find it funny, and even somewhat giggle-snorted like the tomboy he'd used to know in love. And relishing in the sound—and committing it to memory like Axel would tell him to do—Sora spoke from his heart, but seeing as how intricately connected he and Kairi were, he almost wondered if really he was speaking from hers.

"You make my memories nicer, I think, Kairi. You make everything nicer, actually... Remembering a conch shell, instead of the sharp shell in Ursula's lair is a much better thing, so please don't be sad or ashamed about it all; I prefer my memories that way. I mean, the whole thing's so nice—and I strive to be nice, but I…

"I can really only find myself, and _be_ nice, through things like that, so let me see that, okay? Don't be ashamed or anything-"

Sora was about to finish his speech off awkwardly, with another scratch of his head: preparing to _not_ be nice to himself, but rather rip himself a new one for messing up his own speech.

But before he could even begin to reprimand himself, he saw a certain flare in Kairi's eyes. And then, as she once again stood on her tiptoes, Kairi jumped at Sora with the type of kiss Sora would never have expected from her. It wasn't chaste at all, but rather open-mouthed, and though it was different from how they usually were… it also seemed to ring of their personas.

And as Sora pushed Kairi back slightly—upon hearing Riku starting to come into the place—and patted her on the head. He thought that, maybe in some ways, change was nicer and better than they'd been making it out to be. And perhaps it even could become something else that was beautiful in their lives.

Maybe… anyway, Sora thought with a small smile on his lips, as he touched his mouth with his own hands: something Kairi was often like to do.

**Author's Note: So this story's probably not my best story. There are parts I like to it and parts I don't, but I'm just glad I finally forced myself to post something again.**

**I've had a really hard time editing my work and showing it to you lately, guys. Seriously. So hopefully this is a step in the right direction, even if I probably should have posted a better story (though the world does need more SoKai). Wow… my confidence in writing is completely gone now. Huh.**

**Anyway, this was originally written for my friend Cristina's birthday, but I hated it at the time so didn't give it to her. Yeah…**

**Also, there are a TON of things I did in this fic, and so very many references.**

**First off, I wanted to write a story about the three of them telling their stories together, but I didn't want it to be like so many other stories on this site, so random things for them to comment on ftw. I also wanted to bring up the Kairi/Naminé issue and show that Kairi's insecure about doing less for the world than the boys.**

**The biggest thing, though, is that this is in response to people on KHInsider that say that Sora doesn't like Kairi as much after finding her in KHII, because she's not the tomboy he remembers her as. And though I don't believe that for a second, this was my attempt on dealing with that. I meant to have them get to know each other again, and also learn new things about each other, as they realized that the past, present, and future are ALL great things to have in a person's character. IDK. **

**Another thing I meant to touch on here is the idea that Sora remembers things wrong (in CoM and Re:Coded), because he has had up to four other people in his heart at different times remembering things differently than him, like how Kairi thought the one sharp seashell in Ursula's lair—I hope you guys know what I'm talking about—was a lot… nicer than it actually was).**

**Also, this was supposed to be cute and fluffy, but it sort of ended up being angsty and weird, but I guess it would have to be given the subject matter.**

**I also tried to keep Kairi in-character in this story, because I feel like I've been writing her OOC lately, maybe. (Though I probably somehow made Sora OOC in the process…) And I also (mostly) tried to keep everyone as innocent and Disney friendly as possible.**

**Oh! And the thing about Pluto: that's canon. It was in one of the Ultimanias, I believe. Apparently the letter we see him carrying at the end of KH1 is a letter that Mickey gave him. It's enchanted so that he can teleport places, which he clearly does in this fic. Yep.**

**I feel like there was a lot more I wanted to say about this fic, but I can't remember what it was now. Maybe I'll edit this later…**

**So drop me a review and tell me how this is. Thanks, guys. And sorry for my absence lately. Hopefully I'll be back for good now, and with better stories.**

**-Shanna**

**P.S. If the last third of this story's weird, it's because my original edit of it was lost and I had to do it all over. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

**P.P.S. One part of this story (when Sora's imagining how he'd hold Kairi in the cave) was based off of a fanart on Tumblr; I can try and tell you which one, if anyone's interested.**

**SoKai ftw! And may more people do stuff for them, and may we see more of them in KHIII (which hopefully we'll get more info for at E3)!**


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